"[Because I couldn't afford a phone], I negotiated the deal for Family Ties from a phone booth outside of Pioneer Chicken, wishing I had $1.99 for a wing-and-biscuit combo."

2. Marry the right person

"My instincts were proven out: Tracy is the right person for me. When we married, that was it. We were in love then, as now, and we planned to stay married."

3. Keep your head up

"You hear people say, 'Keep your head down' [when times are tough]. But I find the opposite is true: Keep your head up."

4. Listen to your loved ones

"For a time I dealt with my diagnosis with alcohol, which was a disaster. I woke up one morning and Tracy said, 'Is this what you want?' I knew it wasn't what I wanted. I recognized I had choices about drinking  and about Parkinson's."

5. Teach your children well

"What I want my kids to understand [about life] is, put in more than is expected and take out less than you want. And enjoy life as much as I do!"

6. Fight the good fight

"I didn't want to just sign on to publicize somebody else's method of operations. I wanted to make sure it was to a [good] end. Now, I look around my foundation and think, Look at what we've wrought. It's like an out-of-body experience."

7. Never give up

"Look at the choices you have, not the choices that have been taken away from you. In them, there are whole worlds of strength and new ways to look at things."

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